Tanguy Pierog: LHC and Cosmic Rays: the Chicken or the Egg?

Date

Time

Location

Feb. 1

Tanguy Pierog

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

In recent years the interpretation of high energy cosmic ray measurements took another direction. From the astrophysical point of view, it was usually assumed that extra-galactic charged cosmic rays were protons, but mass composition results from the Pierre Auger Observatory, in particular using hadronic interaction models updated with LHC data, point to a mixed composition at energies well above the ankle of the spectrum. Realistic air shower simulation and hadronic interaction models are the key points for a proper interpretation of charged cosmic ray data, and data measured at the LHC are a fundamental ingredient for these models. On the other hand, hadronic models used for cosmic ray analysis have a better predictive power than traditional high energy physics monte-carlo for minimum bias analysis at the LHC. After a first part dedicated to the post-LHC hadronic interaction models and their comparison to LHC data, the latest results from Pierre Auger Observatory will be presented with a focus given on mass composition and constrains on hadronic interactions ... leading to better models to describe LHC data.